The Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC,  Abuja Zonal Command, has launched Operation Sauka Lafiya, a special enforcement and public safety initiative aimed at improving road safety, strengthening traffic law enforcement, and safeguarding the lives and property of all road users in the federal capital territory and Niger state.

The Commanding Officer in charge of the Zone, Assistant Corps Marshal , Comfort Asom who stated this at the launch in Abuja said the operation was introduced in response to the increasing volume of traffic and the persistent violations that continue to contribute to road crashes, fatalities, and traffic congestion across the Federal Capital Territory and surrounding areas.

According to the Commander, the FRSC remains committed to its statutory mandate of ensuring safer roads through effective patrol operations, strategic enforcement, public education, and prompt emergency response.

According to the Zonal Commanding Officer , the operation is designed to achieve reduction in road traffic crashes, fatalities, and injuries and ensuring free flow of traffic across major highways and urban roads.

“Intensify enforcement against traffic violations, including speed violations, mixed loading, route violations, driving without a valid licence, and other dangerous driving practises.”

Mrs Asom explained that Operation Sauka Lafiya would focus on intelligence-driven enforcement, enhanced highway patrols, speed management operations, and strict compliance with road traffic regulations.

“Dangerous driving behaviours remain one of the leading causes of fatal crashes and urged motorists to obey traffic laws, avoid excessive speed, desist from mixed loading and route violations, and cooperate with FRSC personnel carrying out their lawful duties.”

She however appealed to transport operators, commercial drivers, fleet managers, and the general public to support the initiative by promoting responsible road use and reporting reckless driving.

The Zonal Commanding Officer reaffirmed the Corps determination to create a safer road environment through sustained enforcement, public enlightenment, and collaboration with relevant stakeholders, emphasising that road safety is a shared responsibility.

Kayode Oyedare, Edited By Grace Namiji

From Sylvia Udegbunam, Enugu

The Enugu State Government will on Tuesday distribute farm inputs to 63,000 smallholder farmers across the state to boost agricultural production this farming season.

The government also approved the employment of 4,698 additional teachers for its Smart Green Schools, while also directing the activation of all its isolation centres following the outbreak of the Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and parts of Uganda, saying it did not want to be caught unawares.

These were made known to Government House correspondents after a meeting of the State Executive Council in Enugu at the weekend.

Briefing newsmen, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr. Malachy Agbo; Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Dr. Patrick Ubru; Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ndubueze Mbah; and Commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu, said the Mbah Administration would continue to deliver optimal governance even during the campaign period, insisting that it has a mandate and vision to deliver.

The Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation said, “Last year, about 40,000 farmers benefited. This year, it is even bigger and better, as the state has now approved for 63,000 farmers to receive free agricultural inputs as intervention, ranging from fertilisers to agrochemicals, free rice seeds, free maize seeds, and free pepper and tomato seeds.

“It is targeted at reducing the cost of agricultural production and ensuring that our smallholder farmers increase their income and improve their livelihoods.

“The Exco also directed that the beneficiaries of these farm inputs must be duly registered smallholder farmers who are identifiable, whose farms are captured, and can be monitored.

“So, on Tuesday, 21st July, the governor will flag off the distribution of farm inputs. Thereafter, the 260 wards will receive theirs under strict monitoring to ensure that only those identifiable as farmers benefit from the scheme to better their lives,” Ubru explained.

On his part, Prof. Mbah said the additional 4,698 teachers were to ensure that the standard for the 267 Smart Green Schools, as modelled at the Owo Campus, is fully and uniformly achieved across the state.

“Enugu State Government has further expanded and intensified its efforts to completely equip and operationalise the Centre for Experiential Learning and Innovation (CELI), which is situated within the Enugu State College of Education (Technical).

“This is a guaranteed strategy to institutionalise and ensure the sustainability of the Enugu education project, especially as it relates to the Smart Green Schools.

“This is a way to ensure that no teacher is left behind. It is also to ensure that every teacher in our Smart Green Schools passes through a thorough training programme at the centre and that they can effectively implement the type of education where our children acquire skills, not only memorise.

“CELI is also a way to support our young Enugu people who have talents, innovative skills, or who have come up with patentable ideas and solutions so that they get support to commercialise them,” Ndubueze stated.

The Commissioner for Health told newsmen that the state was taking proactive steps following the outbreak of Ebola in East Africa.

“Because countries are now regarded as a global village and considering the fact that Enugu is now a gateway state receiving direct international flights, the state government has now directed that all the isolation centres established during the time of COVID-19 should be immediately reactivated and made ready for service so that we will not have a situation we did not prepare for. This is a proactive measure for a better state of response,” he said.

He added that Exco also discussed and approved that all the expansion works going on in the state hospitals should be expedited and completed before the end of the year.

“For example, the new high-rise buildings at the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital Park Lane, the teaching hospital at the State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS) at Igbo-Eno, among others, are now to receive extra attention, while the Enugu International Hospital will be commissioned in a matter of a few weeks,” he concluded.

Also at the press briefing were the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dame Ugochi Madueke, and her Works and Infrastructure counterpart, Engr. Ben Osy Okoh.

A 13-year-old boy was killed after part of a fountain collapsed in Salamanca province, northwestern Spain, during the country’s World Cup victory celebrations.

Two other young people were injured, emergency services said, including one child who was taken to hospital with a possible broken bone in his leg.

People were celebrating Spain’s victory inside the Árbol Gordo fountain in Salamanca’s Ciudad Rodrigo, when it partially collapsed around 00:30 local time (23:30 BST).

“What was supposed to be a celebration for the victory in the Spanish National Football Team’s World Cup has turned into a tragedy,” Ciudad Rodrigo’s town hall posted on social media.

Emergency services for Castilla y León said it had received several calls about the collapse of the fountain. Part of the structure gave way after several people climbed on it to celebrate Spain’s win, local media reported.

The emergency service said it had notified the city’s local police, as well as Salamanca’s Civil Guard, its fire brigade and the local emergency medical service – which dispatched a mobile intensive care unit and a basic life support ambulance to the scene.

The emergency medical service later requested the presence of the Civil Guard at the local health centre to investigate the death of the boy who was treated there, the Castilla y León’s regional government’s website said.

It also requested the Civil Guard activate psychological support for the family.

The city’s council said it “hopes for a speedy recovery of the others who have been affected by the incident”.

Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in the World Cup final on Sunday after Ferran Torres scored in extra time.

It is the country’s second ever World Cup win, after their last victory in 2010.

Earlier this month, three people died from suffocation during World Cup celebrations in Mexico City, while a 30-year-old man also died in an epileptic crisis.